Scientology has come to the forefront of American society with the emergence of many celebrities, Tom Cruise the most popular of these, as its followers. Cruise has even gone so far to say that he is "a militant for the religion." Scientology, which was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, is growing as America continues to move more and more into an individualistic culture. Scientology gives its followers a way to stay religious, but concentrate on individualistic goals.

Contrary to what many people will say, Scientology is a cult. Scientologists believe that individuals are neither mind nor body, but a spiritual being. They don’t believe in the concept of a heaven or hell, and focus on relieving a person from material pressures. The main goal of this new "religion" is to free an individual from dependence on the material universe. Interestingly enough, Scientologist encourage those who have gone the way of Scientology to remain a part of their church. You have to ask yourself, "How can someone believe in Jesus, and be a part of this cult?"

While there are many factors that qualify Scientology as a cult, there are two that really reflect this thought. First, they refute the fact of a heaven or hell. They believe in reincarnation in which the individual passes through many different lifetimes. As Christians, we believe in eternal life through the salvation in which Jesus has provided for us in his death and resurrection. This thought seems very elementary to those of us who have grown up in the church all of our lives. However, there are many other people who are claiming salvation through Jesus Christ, while at the same time participating in this ever growing cult.

Another conflict in the beliefs of Scientologists and Christians, is the formers claim that through their scientific religious practices, they can free an individual from dependence on the material world. They even believe that a person can reach a level of Scientology where they can actually leave their body and mind, which means they can see, hear, and feel without access to their normal senses. God’s word teaches us that Christians will have to endure the pains of this world. In doing this Paul tells us we grow in character and faith in Christ. While we would all like to live a painless, carefree life, we know that is no longer possible since sin has entered into the world. Like the Pharisees of old, many people today are trying to use their own power to achieve peace and understanding.

With the popularity of Scientology growing, Christians will more than likely be confronted with questions about this cult. Not only this, but many will say you can be both a Christian and a Scientologist. This is false, and as you can see from the information above, Christianity and Scientology conflict at the very foundation of their existence.

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